Center Stage
by Au-Zo
Summary: It was only a simple play, but who knew it would make her life more complicated. SessKag
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, Inuyasha and company don't belong to me.

**Story Summary: **Kagome is a member of the drama club and they are hosting a play. But it's no ordinary play when Shippo, the club president, invited his two silver-haired cousins to be part in it. One is an international superstar while the other is a business tycoon. Everything started out fine, then chaos ensued, and Kagome is caught in the middle of it.

**Title:** Heaven Knows

**Chapter 1 **

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"_Uh…Kagome…"_

"_What?!"_

"_Well, um…you see…Kagome…that man over there…That's, um…that's…"_

"_What are you talking about, Sango?"_

_A glance. A pause._

"_Oh, you've – " _

_

* * *

_

Xxx Earlier that day xxX

" – got to be kidding me, Kags?" Sango stared incredulously at the slumped form of her roommate before her. With a chuckle and a slight shake of her head, she reached out her right hand and gently shook the sleeping girl, "Really, Kagome. I just left you for five minutes and you fall asleep…"

No response.

Sango raised a brow, and shook harder. "Kagome, wake up!"

Still no response.

Sango sighed, there was no point waking Kagome up when the girl decided to sleep in. With a shrug, she left the kitchen and sat heavily on the couch, where Miroku was sitting, watching tv, "I guess the two of us are going ahead."

"What's wrong with Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"In the kitchen," Sango replied dryly. When Miroku gave her a confused look she supplied, "Sleeping."

"Oh," Miroku blinked and let out a chuckle, "Figures. Well then," He slapped his hands on his knees before getting up, "Shall we wake her highness up?"

Sango snorted, "I already tried. She won't budge."

Miroku stared at her for a moment before walking towards the kitchen. "Maybe you didn't try hard enough, hm?"

Sango sighed but followed Miroku, "Well, Miroku, why don't you try?" She crossed her arms, "Just don't come crying to me if you fail."

"Of course," he gave her a sly grin. He's been meaning to try this for sometime now. Cracking his knuckles, he grinned at Sango one last time then turned to Kagome.

Sango rolled her eyes. Oh, she knew what he was about to do. Not that she approved of it, she usually knocked his head off if he did what he was about to do right now. However, if this was the only way to get Kagome to get up, maybe she'll let him slip this one time. He'd get his punishment anyway…just not from her.

"Here it goes," Miroku mumbled excitedly. Then, as Sango predicted, his right hand, in a blur, went and groped Kagome's bottom.

Sango's lips twitched at Miroku's dreamy expression. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?

Miroku sighed dreamily, "You have no idea."

_Opportunistic bastard… _

XxxxX

"Oi, Ah, Un! What the hell's taking Fluffers so long!?"

"About that, Inuyasha-sama," Ah cleared his throat and Un finished, "Sesshoumaru-sama is still in his room."

"Eh?" Inuyasha blinked. "What do you mean?"

When the twins didn't respond and looked everywhere but him, he knew something was wrong. He let out a groan when he realized what the twins were not telling him. "I thought I told both of you to wake him up! I thought he told you to wake him up!"

This time, they looked straight to his eyes as if saying, 'you think we have a death wish?', "Inuyasha-sama, I set his alarm at the usual time he does on weekdays, 7," Ah started.

"However, it seemed that Sesshoumaru-sama managed to sleep through it," Un completed.

Inuyasha's left brow twitched, "How many did you set?"

"Three," Ah and Un said in unison.

"How the hell did he manage to sleep through those?!"

The twins shrugged. "It's not really that surprising."

Damn it! He glanced at his watch: half past 9. They were already half an hour late. note: Inuyasha also woke up late "Shippo is not gonna like this," he mumbled then paused, his face twisting in disgust when he took in what he said, "Keh. I don't care what that runt thinks."

_What you gon' do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk? I'ma get, get, get, get, you drunk, Get you love drunk off my humps._

Yeah, he didn't give a damn what Shippo thinks.

_My humps, my humps, my humps, my humps, my humps, my humps, my humps, my humps, my lovely little lumps. (Check it out)_

"Inuyasha-sama."

"What?"

"You're phone's ringing."

"Oh, thanks," Inuyasha fished his cellphone from his pocket, and flipped it open, "Yeah?"

"Where the hell are you?!"

Speak of the devil.

"Yo, Ship, how's it doing?"

"Don't give me that crap, Inuyasha!" Shippo yelled on the other end, "You were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago! Where the hell are you?!"

Inuyasha, even when the phone was a good foot away from his ears, amazingly heard everything clearly, "Home," he answered offhandedly.

There was a moments silence but he swore he heard cursing coming from the other line. "What are you still doing there?!"

"Apparently, Fluffers decided he wanted to be Sleeping Beauty today," He grumbled.

"Well, wake him up!"

"Are you shitting me? There's no way I'm gonna do that! You know what his like when you dis–"

"I don't care. Just wake him up and be here in 15 minutes." Click.

"What the f…," Inuyasha stared at his phone in disbelief, "How dare that rant order me then hang up! Who does he think he is?"

He scowled. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Maybe he should just leave without Sesshoumaru? Shippo definitely would not like that, then again he didn't really care what Shippo thinks…and between Shippo and his brother's wrath? He'd take Shippo hands down. No arguments there. There was no way he was going to get beaten up…again.

"Should I ready the car now, Inuyasha-sama?" Ah inquired.

"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha nodded, "Wait for me outside."

"Where are you going, Inuyasha-sama?" Un asked.

"Keh," Inuyasha grunted, "To give Sleeping Beauty a morning call," and walked off towards the stairs, "Shippo is going to owe me **big** for this."

"Then we bid you the best of luck, Inuyasha-sama," the twins said before going their separate ways to do their respective chores.

"Keh. Where the hell is Rin when you need her?"

XxxxX

"Stop poking it!"

"But it hurts."

"It's hurting because your poking it! So stop poking it!"

Miroku pouted but listened to Sango and placed his hands at his sides. "It still hurts."

Sango let out an exasperated groan, "God, Miroku, stop whining. This isn't the first time someone hit you."

"Yeah but this is the first time someone hit me and broke my nose," Miroku mumbled quietly that Sango **almost** didn't hear him.

But Sango did hear him and when it dawned to her what he had said, she snorted and covered her mouth with both her hands to refrain from laughing.

Xxx 1 and a half hour ago xxX

Sango's eyes twitched rather dangerously. She was not a hot-tempered person. No. She was calm, considerate and patient, who always thinks before she acts. She had always been proud of her self-control. When her brother broke her bicycle, she didn't get angry at him. Disappointed? Yes. Angry? No. Instead of yelling like others would normally do if their sibling broke their only means of transportation around the university campus, she just told him, calmly, that he should be more careful next time especially when borrowing other people's things.

So why was it that the man in front of her does nothing but anger her?

Miroku was deeply immersed in his own fantasy world that he failed to notice his companion's silent rage. He bit his lower lip and smiled. He didn't know Kagome had such a nice ass. Hmm. What if he placed his other hand…He slowly raised his left hand…

Sango's self-control snapped. Ok, that's it. He's a dead man! She moved forward and was about to strangle him when…an elbow connected to Miroku's nose in a sickening crack.

WHAM!

XxxxX

She felt someone watching her and turned to Miroku, who was glaring daggers at her. _How cute, he's angry._ She snorted again and Miroku's glare intensified. She cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure to no avail, "What?"

"Stop laughing."

"I wasn't."

"You were about to."

He was right. There's no point lying anyway, "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, but it's wrong when you're laughing at the expense of someone especially whenthat someone is right beside you and **is** hurting."

That did it. She couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.

"Sango!" He whined but she didn't pay him any attention. It wasn't broken really, his nose though it certainly felt like it, but his nose bridge was now adorned with a small gash underneath the band-aid that Sango had insisted on putting earlier. And all this because of Kagome, who probably was still sleeping quite peacefully with her head on the dining table, in her and Sango's shared apartment. He slumped further into his seat. It really hurt his ego when Kagome managed to injure his beloved nose all the while sleeping. She could at least had the decency to wake up.

"Miroku?" A new voice piped in, "What are you doing here?"

Miroku extended his neck until the back of his head rested against the edge of the cushioned backseat. His purple orbs met green ones that belonged to a certain fiery haired friend. "Oh, hello, Shippo," he greeted cheerily.

Shippo's brows furrowed, "You didn't answer my question."

"Whoa!" Miroku raised both his hands in the air. He straightened and twisted his body to look at Shippo without straining his neck, "Touchy, aren't we?," he remarked, teasingly.

Shippo scowled.

Miroku grinned mischievously, unaffected by the younger man's foul mood. He had faced much…much more intimidating personas in his line of work and just happened to be employed under the most intimidating person he had the pleasure of meeting. And young Shippo still had a very long way to go, "I swear you're beginning to act like your dear cousin Maru when he's really annoyed at something."

"If he hears you call him **that**, I'm sure it will be directed at you," Shippo growled back.

Miroku smiled knowingly.

Shippo glared at him.

Someone clearing their throat broke the two men's attention from each other and to the other forgotten occupant of the room. Sango, who apparently had already stopped laughing, was not too pleased at being ignored.

Miroku placed a hand at the back of his neck, "Sorry."

Shippo's eyes widened in surprise. He looked from Sango to Miroku, then back to Sango again, "You two know each other?"

Miroku grinned lopsidedly.

Sango rolled her eyes at Miroku, "Sort of."

Shippo blinked.

Sango bit back a groan. She really didn't want to tell him yet…sigh…Oh, well… "Shippo, meet my boyfriend."

A few seconds passed…

…during which Shippo tried to process what Sango had said…

Did he hear her right?

"What?!" Shippo bellowed, disbelief clearly written on his face.

Sango cringed at the volume of his voice, "Calm down, Ship."

"Since when?"

"A month ago."

So that's why Miroku has been coming around more often lately. Shippo's jaw opened slightly, "You…how…what?"

Sango sighed again. She's been doing a lot of that today.

"I'd be happy to fill you in on that one, Shippo," Miroku started, his voice perceptibly more cheerful than usual.

Sango's and Shippo's eyes widened in alarm. _Hell no_…

Both knew Miroku too well to know that the lech had the tendency to exaggerate…things…

"You know what? I don't even want to know."

"But…" Miroku looked disappointed. He truly wanted to tell him how he and Sango met.

Sango silently thanked the red head and quickly strayed the conversation away from her implausible relationship with Miroku, "So, uh, Ship, I thought the audition was going to start at 9?"

"It **was** supposed to start at 9," Shippo said in a flat tone.

_Wow, he's really in a bad mood, _Sango thought.

Shippo ran a hand through his hair, and dropped at the empty seat beside Sango. "But our esteemed guests had a bit of trouble waking up."

Sango's brows went up, her mind drifting to her roommate. Talk about coincidence...

"Oh," Miroku mused silently, then brought his fist down his palm as he realized something, "Today's Sunday, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Sango answered, wondering why Miroku suddenly asked the day of the week.

"Oh, I see," Miroku chuckled.

"Eh?" Sango blinked, confused. She turned to Shippo, who looked mildly surprised.

What was going on here?

"Oh, shit."

-tbc-

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note: Don't mind the typos and the grammar . ... This is my first Inuyasha pic so be nice everyone..heh..I actually prefer reading fics especially about a certain miko and a sexy demon lord than writing one since I don't think I have any talent in it but this damn story keeps on playing inside my head and is begging to be written down..So here it is, I finally wrote it down to keep my sanity in check...I hope you enjoy it! 

And I know that Kagome and Sesshoumaru didn't have that much part in this chapter. But that will be solved in the next one...If there is any...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, Inuyasha and company don't belong to me.

**Story Summary: **Kagome is a member of the drama club and they are hosting a play. But it's no ordinary play when Shippo, the club president, invited his two silver-haired cousins to be part in it. One is an international superstar while the other is a business tycoon. Everything started out fine, then chaos ensued, and Kagome is caught in the middle of it.

**Title:** Center Stage

**Chapter 2 **

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Kagome squinted her eyes open, and found herself staring at her favorite Mickey Mouse mug. She slowly straightened herself, feeling a little sore in the neck, no doubt from the way she was positioned with her head bent to rest on the table.

She looked around her and it took her a full minute to finally realize that she was not sitting on her bed inside her room but was sitting in a chair inside the kitchen. She blinked. How did she get here anyway?

She sat there for a moment, trying to remember how she ended up sleeping in the kitchen. With a shrug, she finally gave up trying when nothing came back to her, and raised both her hands above her head for a stretch before standing up.

"Sango? You awake?" Kagome called out as she looked through one of the cabinets for an empty bowl. With the tasked done, she took the box of cereal on top of the counter, placing it on the dining table together with the empty bowl and her favorite mug, and went over to the fridge for the carton of milk.

When she was about to reached out to open the fridge, she noticed a post it on the white contraption. She took it and started reading it out loud.

"Hey, Kags, we tried waking you up but you won't get up. And believe me when I say, we tried. Yeah, the lech was here, and you won't believe what he did to try to get you up. But let's just say that in the end he finally got what he deserved. Anyway, we've gone ahead. So when you read this, which means you're finally awake, hurry up and head straight to the university theatre. We'll be waiting for you there. Sango."

There was complete silence when she finished reading. She finally remembered what she was doing in the kitchen. Sango had managed to dragged her out of bed and led her into the kitchen to give her, her morning dose of caffeine. Sango had placed the steaming beverage before her in her Mickey Mouse mug. Then there was someone knocking on the door, and Sango left to see who it was. After that, she dozed off.

But she also remembered another important thing…

Her head snapped towards the clock above the door way.

9:45!

Crap!

XxxxX

Everyone in the household could feel the sudden ominous aura that engulfed the entire mansion and they knew exactly where it came from. And they all scrambled away from the main hall, where the sensation was getting stronger. They did not want to be in the same room with the young master of the master. Because Sesshoumaru awake before the clock strikes noon on a Sunday was a bad omen.

The twins knew this and they hardly blame the staff as they hurried out the room. With a sigh, they beckoned the two new additions to the household staff, who were still frozen from were they stood, to leave the room before they were permanently scarred for life.

Their were only a few who were brave enough to approach the tall, silver-haired man when he was in a foul mood, and the twins were quite proud to say that they were part of that few.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," they greeted with a bow as Sesshoumaru strode down the stair with a scowl set firmly on his face.

Sesshoumaru didn't even spare them a glance, "Inuyasha?"

"He went ahead, Sesshoumaru-sama," Un answered, evenly, "He left…in a hurry."

"Hn."

"Shall I prepare a breakfast for you, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Ah inquired.

Sesshoumaru glanced at the twin from the corner of his eyes. Ah didn't flinched, "No, just a cup of coffee."

"Of course," Ah bowed before disappearing around the corner.

"Un." Sesshoumaru called, as we walked towards the small round table in the middle of the room. A vase of flowers, sunflowers this time, adorned its center. Those had not been there before, but when Rin came and lived here, she insisted on placing a table on the middle where she could put a vase of flowers she had picked at the garden.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Is there any news from Jaken?" Sesshoumaru asked, as he browsed through the newspaper that lay beside the vase.

"Ah, yes, Kaede called earlier this morning. She said Rin was doing fine and will be coming home this afternoon as planned."

Sesshoumaru looked up from what he was reading, "Kaede?" His brows furrowed, not at all pleased at the information. Where was Jaken?

"Jaken was…indisposed at the moment, she said," Un continued, feeling sorry for Jaken.

"I see," Sesshoumaru replied dryly. He was right to have sent Kaede with Rin. Jaken would be punished later.

Ah then returned with the cup of coffee he had requested and handed it to him. He accepted it and took a sip before instructing them to prepare his car.

When he left, everyone in the household sighed in relief and went back to work.

XxxxX

"You forgot?" Miroku exclaimed in disbelief, though he was finding all this very amusing. "You seriously forgot?"

Shippo let out a groan, and covered his face with both his hands. He can't believe he forgot. He had been so involved with the project that he didn't even notice that the audition fell on a Sunday. When he told Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru that both needed to be present during the auditions, he only told them the date, not the day of the week. And it never crossed his mind that it fell on a Sunday. Now he understood why Inuyasha turned as pale as a sheet and Sesshoumaru looked murderous when he revealed to them when it was.

"No wonder Inuyasha sounded so frantic when I spoke to him on the phone." Shippo commented, suddenly feeling guilty at the situation he placed his cousin in.

Miroku's brows shot up at the revelation, "He did?"

"I don't want to be rude or anything," Sango interrupted, annoyed that she had no idea what they were talking about, "But can one of you explain to me what you two are talking about because I'm having a hard time following the both of you."

Instead of looking sheepish, Miroku turned to Sango with a strange glint in his eyes and smiled, "You know Inuyasha, right?"

"Of course," Sango started, cautiously, "Aside from the fact that he's an international star, is very famous and that his face is practically in every teen magazine there is, he is our guest, that we will be working with for the next two months. Unless I'm mistaken. Am I mistaken?"

"You're a fan of his?" Miroku couldn't resist asking the question.

"I didn't say that." Sango answered flatly. But honestly, she kinda liked listening to his songs. And hell, if she'd tell Miroku that.

"Right, anyway," Miroku started, leaning a bit towards Sango, eyes looking straight at her, serious, as if he was about to tell her something very important. But his eyes were twinkling in amusement. "You know there's another person coming other than Inuyasha, right?"

Shippo rolled his eyes. Miroku was certainly taking advantage of the situation and seemed to be enjoying himself. Then again, if you think about, it was an amusing situation. When he realized the upcoming entertainment that was sure to happen soon, Shippo couldn't stop the grin that started to spread on his face.

For a moment, Sango wanted to leave the room. The two men were suddenly giving her the creeps with the way they were grinning like maniacs.

Sango affirmed Miroku with a nod, "But Shippo never told us who it is."

"Well, now you'll know," Miroku clapped his hands giddily. Taking a deep breathe, he continued, "That other person is Inuyasha's brother."

"Half-brother." Shippo piped in.

"Half-brother," Miroku smiled, though a bit annoyed at being interrupted, "Thank you, Shippo. Now, where were we? Ah, like I said Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's older **half**-brother will be coming along too. Now the problem is, Sesshoumaru wakes up with a very, and I mean very bad temper especially if he does not get at least 3 or 4 hours of sleep."

Sango's lips formed an 'o', "But what has that got to do with Sundays?"

"Now that's what makes it more interesting," Shippo continued, eyes glinting with something akin to mischief. His sour mood had mysteriously disappeared, "On Sundays, waking him up before noon is considered taboo." On the other side of Sango, Miroku nodded in agreement, "Disturbing his well-loved and well-deserved Sunday rest means your life is forfeit."

"Well, I'm glad you know that, you runt!" a gruff voice resonated within the 1,987-seated theatre.

The three turned their heads towards the source of the voice. And Lo and behold! Inuyasha had arrived, and he didn't look too pleased. Sango flushed slightly at the sight of the famous singer while Miroku burst into peals of laughter, earning himself a heated glare from the said singer. Shippo, on the other hand mimicked Inuyasha's nonchalance earlier with a raise of a hand and a…

"Yo, Inuyasha, how's it doing?"

…that only further aggravated Inuyasha.

"Fuck you, you little runt! I'm going to fucking kick your ass!"

-tbc-

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**note: **The idea of Sesshoumaru being not a morning person is inspired by another of my favorite anime characters. Anyone guess who it is? hehe... I'll be doing that as I continue, bringing some of my favorite characters personality and incorporate it into the story..

I also changed the title..I just realized that the previous one sounded too cheesy and serious..

So this is Chapter 2. And again, I hope you guys enjoy it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, Inuyasha and company don't belong to me.

**Story Summary: **Kagome is a member of the drama club and they are hosting a play. But it's no ordinary play when Shippo, the club president, invited his two silver-haired cousins to be part in it. One is an international superstar while the other is a business tycoon. Everything started out fine, then chaos ensued, and Kagome is caught in the middle of it.

**Title:** Center Stage

* * *

In a span of ten minutes, Sango could safely say that she did not know much about Miroku and Shippo as she thought she did. In that short amount of time, she learned that Shippo and Inuyasha where cousins. Yes, that's right. They were cousins. And that certainly answered the question that had been nagging at the back of Sango's mind. She had been wondering how someone of international status agreed to take part in something as trivial as a university play. Well, now she knew: Because they were cousins. 

And then there's Miroku. Miroku had always talked, more like complained, to her on how tiring his job was and how much of a tyrant his boss was. And she told him at one time, after having enough of the whining, that if he didn't like his job, he might as well quit and look for another. She remembered him thinking about it, but he only smiled thoughtfully and told her he couldn't do that. And she thought he had lost his mind then. Well, now she knew who his tyrannical boss was and understood why he would not quit: Because his boss, who so happened to be Inuyasha's older half-brother, was his best friend (Although Sesshoumaru didn't share the same sentiment).

"Shut the fuck up, buzou! I wasn't talking to you!" Inuyasha practically yelled and the three men, or rather boys, began arguing again.

And yes, who could forget about Inuyasha. Despite his rugged boyish good looks that any woman would die for, he had a rather loud mouth and his vocabulary certainly needed a lot polishing. However, there was something about him that seemed very familiar…

Sango sighed. She didn't think she can take anymore of this. _I wonder if Kagome's still asleep…_

"So," Shippo began, his voice sounded amused but there was also a hint of admiration, "Let me get this straight. You woke Sesshoumaru and then managed to get out from it unharmed. Inuyasha," he placed an arm over his cousin shoulder, "you're amazing."

"WTF?!" Inuyasha blurted out in disgust, swiping Shippo's hands away from him. "Get your hands of me!"

"He did wake him up," Miroku added with a sly grin, "But the question here, Ship, is - **Where** is Sesshoumaru?"

Inuyasha stared at the lech indignantly, "What? You think I'd share a ride with his royal assness after what I did?"

"He has a point," Shippo remarked.

Inuyasha huffed in annoyance. If they only knew what happened earlier…

Xxx Earlier – around 20 minutes ago xxX

Inuyasha suddenly felt a cold chill ran down his spine. He had a bad feeling about this. Screw that. Anything that had to do with his brother and sleep was never good news. He stared at the large Mahogany door looming before him. He had been standing there for quite sometime now, contemplating whether he should go in or not especially after what happened the last time he was in the same predicament. It was not a fond memory. He sure wished Rin was here. She was the only one who could get his brother to wake up this early on a Sunday without having the risk of getting dismembered.

He stood there for a couple of minutes, before he gathered enough courage to step forward and reached the door knob. With a quick twist of the wrist, the door opened to reveal a spacious study.

_Shit._

He wasn't even in the bedroom yet, and he was already sweating like a pig. Taking a deep breathe, he told himself he could do this. And with every resolve he had left, he urged his legs forward towards the door located at the right side of the study that would lead him to his brother's bedroom. He paused in front of the door for a moment then peeked inside the darkened room.

True enough, his brother was there, with his head buried on a pillow, sleeping. He took a couple of steps inside.

"Oi! Sleepi…ah…Sesshoumaru!" There was no point aggravating his brother further than he'd already be when he wakes up, "Sesshoumaru, get up!"

The only response he got was a grunt.

"Sesshoumaru!"

The sheets moved but stopped as quickly as it began.

Inuyasha lost his patience and cried before he could stop himself, "Oi, get up you lazy bastard!"

Then suddenly, an ominous cloud filled the room.

_Holy shi…_

"What do you want, half-wit?" came his brother's cold voice that sounded colder than usual.

Inuyasha gulped when Sesshoumaru slowly stirred into sitting position. He could feel his brother's eyes on him and resisted the urge to squirm.

"Who even gave you the permission to come into my room?" Sesshoumaru snarled in disgust, "What's wrong, little brother? The cat cut your tongue?" Inuyasha instinctively took a step back, "Pathetic. If you don't have anything to say then leave and do not return to this room again or I will put an end to your miserable existence."

"I…I'd be happy to leave this goddamned room, asshole!" Inuyasha retorted, waving a fist on the air, inching closer to the door, "I came here to do you a favor and remind you that today's the audition for the fucking play and you're supposed to be there!"

Inuyasha swore he heard a growl that sounded too much like the real thing for comfort. And it came from his brother. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath. He needed to get out of the room now.

"That little brat," Sesshoumaru hissed sharply, fist clenched at his sides. Not a good sign, Inuyasha deduced and took that as a cue to exit the room.

"I…ah…need to go now…so…uh…I'll see you later."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inuyasha shuddered at the memory. Sesshoumaru can be so scary sometimes…well, for others, most of the time.

"Inuyasha."

Inuyasha snapped out from his thoughts and turned to look at Sango.

"How'd you manage to get in here so easily? I mean with all those fans outside that would have been virtually impossible."

Inuyasha inclined his head towards the stage with a grin, "I came in through the western gate, snuck myself in and used the backdoor. It's not impossible if you know your way around." When Sango quirked a brow, he shrugged but continued, "I graduated here so I kinda know the place"

"Graduated?" Sango asked in mild disbelief, and studied the singer. He was like, what? 23, 24 years old. So that would mean that, if he did study here and being famous as he was, she would have known. "How come I never kne – " She was cut off when Inuyasha gave a loud chuckle.

"Come on, Taijiya. You know me."

Sango stared at him blankly.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Damn, wench, do I have to spell it out for you?" He sighed, then pointed at his silver locks, "Black hair. Purple eyes. Business school? Ring any bells?"

Sango's eyes widened in recognition then without warning hit him in the head, "You asshole! It was you all along!"

"What the hell?!" Inuyasha cried, clutching his head. Sango just looked at him. "Well, at least you remembered," he muttered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thank god, she took a different route entering the University. She could just imagine the horde of students (most of them howling fan girls) crowding in the southern gate of the university hoping to audition and earn a part in the play. Her eyebrows twitched. People these days would do just about anything to see a celebrity. She shook her head slightly.

_But a celebrity, huh?_, she mused to herself. To say that she was surprised when Shippo announced to the entire drama club that 'the' Inuyasha Takahashi, singer extraordinaire, had accepted to be part in the university play was an understatement. She used to have a small crush with the celebrity, and enjoyed listening to his songs (she and Sango owned Inuyasha's entire album collection). Although she had long grown out of her silly little infatuation over Inuyasha, she was actually looking forward to this day and wondered if he looked as good as he did on the pictures. She giggled absentmindedly at the thought.

Not paying attention to her surroundings, Kagome took a sharp turn to the left and ran into something hard sending her crashing to the floor. "Ow, that hurt."

"You should watch where you're going, girl."

Kagome's head snapped. A few meters before her, stood a man, whom she obviously collided with, and he didn't look phased at all. She glared at him. She knew it was partly her fault that had both off them sprawled on the ground. But he should have also watched where he was going.

"Hey! I'm not the only one at fault here!"

"What did you say?" he hissed.

She stood, dusting her dirtied pants then glared at him, "I said I'm not the only one at fault here and **you**," she poked him on the chest, "should have watched where you were going also."

The man eyed her for a moment and was about to say something when she abruptly jumped up, almost toppling forward as she did. Regaining her balance, Kagome looked at her watched. "Oh no," she gasped. She grabbed her bag and whizzed passed the man as if he wasn't there at all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After the girl disappeared from his sight, Sesshoumaru glanced down at his chest where the girl had daringly poked him. _How troublesome_.

He was starting to regret agreeing to come to this bothersome event.

So why did he come in the first place?

He did not come in his own free will, that's for sure. He was forced…no, that would be too strong a word to describe the situation he was in…he was persuaded, yes, that was it, he was persuaded to attend it and that brat Shippo knew just who to approach to sway him – a certain innocent little girl who had a strange fixation on flowers.

He had to give it to the brat, he was getting smart. But not smart enough. His lips twisted slightly upward in a smirk as his mind began to formulate various ways to deal with the brat's insolence. And he had no plans in taking it easy. Shippo would learn not to cross him in the future. _But let's save that for later_, he thought as he pushed the idea at the back of his head.

He gazed back to where the girl had gone a few moments ago. She had been wrong when she had accused him of not being aware of his surroundings. Because he was. He just did not have eyes on the back of his head to have been able to evade the girl from running into… _What is that hideous noise?_

His musings were interrupted when the Super Mario theme rang in the air. _What in the world?_ He looked around him but found no one near the vicinity. _Where is that damned noise coming from? _And then, something red caught his eyes. He looked down and found a red cellphone on the ground beside his right foot. He bent down to pick the gadget and contemplated on throwing it against the wall to shut it up but discarded the idea. He was after all, a reasonable man…if he wanted to.

Besides…

It belonged to that girl. With that thought, a smirk, oddly similar to the one earlier when thoughts of Shippo and anguish crossed his mind, began to form on his lips.

Turning off the phone and placing it on his pocket, he began to walk down the empty corridor. Coincidently, the same way where the girl had ran off.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Somewhere, at a different place but at the same time, Shippo and Kagome suddenly felt cold.

-tbc-

* * *

**note**: Congratulations to leo for guessing it right. The answer is the Shadow King, Kyouya Ohtori from Ouran High School Host Club.. Is it a sin that I haven't watched Fruits Baskets yet. Although I know who Yuki is, I have no idea what he's like except that he's cute..heh..I'll try and watch it as soon as I can. Thanks guys for reviewing. I hope I'm not disappointing you because I totally suck at writing. It never was and never will be my cup of tea.. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, Inuyasha and company don't belong to me.

**Title: Center Stage**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Man, Shippo can be downright scary if he wants to," Kagome commented, stretching her arms as she fell in step with Sango. The way Shippo smiled sweetly at her earlier was too sweet for comfort. 

Sango laughed softly at the statement. "But I didn't actually think he'd notice you weren't even there," she commented as they entered the coffee shop located just across the university.

Kagome snorted, "As if that would happen. We're talking about Shippo here." The guy was just too perceptive. He'd instantly notice something was wrong with just one look. It was actually kinda sweet the way he'd notice something was bothering her and tell her that he was always their to listen. But sometimes, it was irritating, the way he'd right away knew that they - they referring to Kagome, Sango, everyone in the club, and even Miroku - did something wrong especially something that he did not like.

Kagome saw Sango shrugged and wondered why the other girl started whispering.

"Well, with the way he and Miroku and then Inuyasha were arguing, I..."

Sango was rudely cut off when Kagome bellowed, "Inuyasha?!"

"Shh! Kagome, keep it down!"

Kagome who had stopped walking at the mention of the singer's name, instinctively placed a hand on her mouth. After a few seconds, she finally grasped at the potential danger she put them in. The café wasn't exactly jammed pack with die-hard Inuyasha fans but even if one squealing fangirl managed to get wind of their conversation, they were dead. These fangirls were like a room full of explosives. When one sets off, the others would soon follow in a chain reaction. So, when one fangirl knows, give them sometime to squeal and ogle at the news, and in a matter seconds, everyone knows, then they would all switch into banshee mode and if the situation turned for the worse, they'd go after her and Sango and squeeze them for information. Kagome shuddered. She definitely did not want that.

"Sorry," Kagome grinned sheepishly and strode beside her bestfriend.

Sango did not answer but shrugged and continued her way towards the counter.

"So he was really there?" Kagome asked in a hushed tone. Her curiosity getting the better of her.

Sango rolled her eyes, "Yes, he was there. You probably weren't able to see him since he was seated at the front with Miroku, and Shippo had immediately sent you out on an errand."

"Wow. Does he really look as good in person?"

Sango muffled a laugh, "Kags, seriously, I thought you've gotten over your unhealthy obsession with the guy."

"I have," Kagome swatted Sango on the arm, playfully, "I'm just curious and besides weren't you the one who declared yourself his number one fan?" she asked with a teasing grin.

She could still remember it clearly. It was two years ago, when she first came into the university as a freshman, and met Sango, a sophomore, who she would be rooming in with. They instantly became friends the moment they met each other and eventually became the best of friends months later. And one of their favorite discussion was - surprise, surprise - Inuyasha. But that was a couple of years ago. Now, they've grown past their fascination over the singer, but once in a while brought it up to taunt each other.

As expected, Sango face turned into a darker shade, "I…I did not!" she huffed.

Kagome laughed, "Yes, you did!"

"Kagome!"

"Yeah, yeah," she grinned but waved her right hand as a sign that she would stop teasing her for now.

Now it was Sango who swatted Kagome on the arm.

"Hey, Kagome, Sango!" the young man behind the counter greeted as he caught sight of them, "Here to pick up the orders?"

"Yup, Shinji-san!" Kagome replied, cheerfully. "Are they ready?"

"Of course, they are," Shinji smiled as he picked up two boxes from the table behind him and placed it on the counter, "Here you go."

"That's a lot of coffee," Kagome handed Shinji the cash.

After receiving the change, both girls took a box each, waving one last time to Shinji before leaving the shop.

"So, Sango," Kagome started, picking up from where the conversation had stopped earlier, with a cheeky grin, "You never answered my question. Does he really look good?"

Sango shrugged, "Kinda."

"You know," Kagome eyed her suspiciously, "For a self-proclaimed number one fan, you don't seem too pleased to see him at all."

Sango sighed, "That was a long time ago, Kagome. And besides…"

When Sango didn't continue, Kagome curiosity piqued and she prodded, "And besides?"

"You remember the guy that I once told you that kind of resembled him?"

"The one with the black hai

r and violet eyes you shared business class with?"

"Yeah, that one. I just learned today that that guy actually was him."

Kagome stopped walking, not quite believing what she was hearing, "Nooo…You're just messing with me."

"Am I?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously."

"Wow… I mean, wow."

"Yeah, I know. And that's not the only thing."

And with that, Sango proceeded to relay to Kagome what happened earlier.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shippo took a deep breath before the door that would take him inside the theatre hall. Earlier, he had sent Kagome to get the coffee from the café just across the university and Sango went with her. When they left, it was at that exact moment that the older Takahashi made his appearance. Apparently, he also used the backdoor like his brother to avoid the chaos in front of the theatre, and as he stood on the stage, motionlessly, the room went dead silent. And it remained that way when he hastily left the room and left Inuyasha and Miroku to deal with an irate Sesshoumaru.

He was a brave young man, and he was proud of that. He had jumped off the plane (with a parachute, of course…he liked sky diving), he had eaten live bugs (happened during a camping trip over a game of truth or dare); he was involved in a fist fight with a man twice his size and won. And those were only among many other stunts he had done in his life. And for that he would say that he was indeed a very brave young man.

However, he was also a very smart and rational man. And at that moment, fleeing from the room away from his older cousin was the very rational thing to do. So fled he did. Sesshoumaru was no plane, definitely was not a bug, and although, he wasn't twice his size, Sesshoumaru was…Sesshoumaru, and he was way more terrifying.

Besides, it was him, although indirectly since it was Inuyasha who did the act, who had disturbed Sesshoumaru's sleep. And Sesshoumaru knew that. Forcing him to even just make one single appearance aside from the final performance night (as part of the audience, of course) was bad enough. Robbing him off his well-deserved sleep was asking just too much. And knowing Sesshoumaru, he was bound to retaliate soon.

So in fleeing the room, he was giving his cousin time to cool off and for him to gather his resolve to be able to face Sesshoumaru without a trace of fear. But it seemed that that was quite a feat to achieve at the moment. Good god! When he steeped into the room, it was practically oozing with tension. It definitely did **not** feel like Sesshoumaru cooled down one bit. Perhaps, leaving Inuyasha with his brother wasn't such a good idea, but Miroku could have easily appeased that. But…

Where was Miroku?

"Where the hell have you been, runt?"

That jolted him from his thought and focused his attention on the younger brother, sitting stiffly on the front row and had a very discernable scowl on his face. Three seats apart to Inuyasha's right was the, oh so ever, impeccable Sesshoumaru with both his arms and legs crossed, looking at him, sideways. He swallowed at the sight. His cousin's face, although he could only see half of it, was as impassive as always, only this time his usually emotionless eyes glinted dangerously. Shippo had a sinking feeling that Sesshoumaru was doing it on purpose and god help him it promised retribution.

"I went to check the guys outside and told them that we'll be starting in 10 minutes," the half-lie (it wasn't a complete lie since he did inform the others) came out smoothly, taking his eyes away from Sesshoumaru, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under his cousin's scrutinizing gaze.

"Keh." Inuyasha grunted, slumping into a comfortable position on his seat.

"Where's Miroku?" Shippo asked as he lowered himself cautiously on the seat between the brothers while mentally chanting, 'be cool, you're fearless'. He would have preferred seating away from the older Takahashi with Inuyasha between them. But with the singer already sitting 3 seats away from his brother, him sitting on Inuyasha's left with a seat apart (he was not taking any chances sitting exactly next to Inuyasha who appeared also not in a good mood for leaving him alone with Sesshoumaru) would simply look awkward. They were after all the judges for the audition and judges were supposed to work together, and exchange opinions, right? If they sat well away from each other they wouldn't be able to do that unless they talk loud enough for the other to her. He didn't want that, not when Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru (most especially Sesshoumaru) was here. They'd probably send most of the auditioners home in tears and scarred for life.

Inuyasha snorted, "How should I know? I don't know what goes on through that perverted brain of his."

The red-head shrugged. Geez, he was just asking. He snuck a quick look at Sesshoumaru, who now had his eyes closed. A sense of relief flowed through him. He was being thoroughly ignored. Then again, he'd rather be ignored at the moment.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ow, ow, Sango, stop pulling my ear! Sango!" Miroku bellowed while trying to detach Sango's tight grip on his left ear.

"Then would you mind explaining to me what you were doing out there?" Sango said albeit too calmly. Miroku knew he was in deep trouble.

Kagome, who was following the two in a more sedate pace carrying the remaining box of coffee (since Sango had dropped off the one she'd been carrying at the registration booth), snickered at the scene the couple was making. Sango and Miroku were at it again. There hadn't been a day wherein the couple wouldn't have one of their silly arguments…Okay, maybe that was a little exaggerated but they always did argue over everything, even if that something was as simple as a…well, just plain simple.

"What are you laughing at?"

Kagome grinned sheepishly at the nasty look Sango was giving her. "Nothing."

When Sango returned her attention back to Miroku, Kagome let out a sigh of relief. Maybe she shouldn't have just gotten out of bed today. Everyone seemed to be in a bad mood.

"I was just having fun?" Miroku answered guiltily, earning a hard pull on his ear, "Ow!"

"Fun? You were feeling random women's asses?!"

Had it been another man, Kagome would have gladly helped Sango and beat the crap out of the guy. But this was Miroku. He was a lech, a pervert. He was the guy with the wandering hands, which was according to Miroku both a blessing (to himself) and a curse (to everyone else). Rid him of these things just wouldn't make him Miroku. Besides, he at least had the decency to admit it (rather proudly too) when he started courting Sango.

But…

Maybe, he kind of over did it this time.

Kagome stifled a laugh.

They had just, or Sango had just turned over the box of coffee to the club members assigned at the registration booth (Sango and Kagome silently thanked they weren't assigned on that group) who took it very gratefully. They were on the verge of entering the theatre when a shout of pervert reached them followed by another shout, then another, then another, and another. Kagome had an inkling as to the root of it all and her suspicions were immediately affirmed when Sango, literally, scoured the sea of fangirls in search of a pony tailed, violet eyed man. Remarkably, it only took Sango less than a minute to track him down.

Kagome suddenly felt two pairs of eyes on her. Sango and Miroku had somehow stopped fighting (well, more like Sango stopped chastising and Miroku stopped whining) and was looking at her strangely. Her eyebrows disappeared behind her bangs, wondering why they were suddenly looking at her as if she'd grown another head. She didn't grow one, did she? Then, she heard someone laughing, the voice sounding just like...hers.

Oh…

Kagome unconsciously rubbed her neck out of habit, her laughter suddenly devoid of its mirth and replaced with uneasiness, "Sorry about that. Couldn't help myself."

Sango sighed, falling in step beside Kagome, "I can't believe that man. I didn't know what I was thinking entering into a relationship with him."

"Sango!" Miroku gasped dramatically, looking slightly hurt, "You don't mean that!"

Sango sent him a scathing glare before grabbing Kagome's arm and walked off faster, dragging a reluctant Kagome along with her.

Miroku blinked, confused at Sango's sudden behavior. It took him a full minute to actually realize the gravity of the situation. Sango was giving him the silent treatment.

Sango walked even faster upon hearing Miroku wailing for her to stop.

Kagome covered her face with her free hand.How the heck did she get involve in this? She really shouldn't have gotten out of bed.

"Sango-chan! You're making a big mista-"

WHAM!

"Stay out, Houshi. I'm not talking to you." Sango hissed at the closed door, breathing heavily. Outside, Miroku whimpered, clutching his already abused nose.

Kagome looked away from the door, sighing resignedly, already used to Sango's sometimes violent nature when angry.

"Sango? Kagome? Is something wrong?" Shippo asked, his voice slightly worried, as he stopped in front of her.

Kagome blinked, taking a quick look around her. They were inside the performance hall.

"Kagome?"

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine," She grinned, handing the box of coffee to Shippo, "Here's your coffee, Ship."

"Ah, thanks. But what's wrong with her?" He pointed at Sango, who was still glaring at the door.

Kagome smiled innocently, waving her hand in dismissal, "Don't worry about her. She and Miroku just had a little fight."

"Oh, okay." Shippo shrugged.

"About damn time the coffee's here! I'm dying for one!"

"Eh?" Kagome found herself staring at none other than Inuyasha as he sauntered towards them, and immediately rummaged through the box Shippo was carrying. "I-Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha looked at her, his eyes flickered for a second as if he recognized her, "Hey," he blinked, greeting her offhandedly, before resuming his search through the box, "Yo, Ship, is there a cappuccino here?"

"I think it's the blue one."

"Just what I need," Inuyasha exclaimed after taking a sip.

_Wow,_ Kagome thought. He looked really good in person, **much** better in person. The pictures didn't do him any justice at all. He was tall, about 5'11" to 6 feet, she assumed; and his face was smooth, flawless, and young; his unruly hair accentuating his boyish charm. However…

"Yo, Fluffers! Want some?! Too bad though there ain't any of those black coffee shit you love so much!" Inuyasha grinned.

Ah, there it is. The infamous tongue Sango was talking about.

"You try my patience, Inuyasha."

_That voice_…Kagome turned to the source of the voice and saw a man sitting down on the front row looking at them disinterestedly. She narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look at the person. When he spoke, his deep, rich, masculine voice sounded awfully familiar.

"Keh, what if I am?"

She continued to peruse her thought as she gazed at the man, trying to remember why he seemed so familiar to her. When his eyes locked with hers, it hit her…

"_You should watch where you're going, girl."_

Kagome's eyes widened in recognition, "**You!!**" she bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at the man. "You're that guy from earlier!"

"It's you," Sesshoumaru replied indifferently.

She could feel her temper bubbling through the surface at his indifference, "Well, yeah, it's me!" she returned haughtily, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Everyone was now staring at her but she was too angry to even notice it and failed to notice the growing coffee stain on Shippo's shirt, the coffee dripping messily on Inuyasha's chin, and Miroku who had finally gain entrance inside the room and was now whispering something to Sango making the latter's eyes widen in alarm. The only thing or in this case person she saw was him and the growing smirk on his lips, making her ground her teeth in anger. He was mocking her. Why that arrogant, son of a…

"Uh…Kagome…" Sango began nervously.

"What?!" she snapped, not taking her eyes off Sesshoumaru.

"Well, um…you see…Kagome…that man over there…That's, um…that's…" Sango paused, thinking of a better way to break the information to her best friend.

"What are you talking about, Sango?"

Sango leaned towards her and whispered the man's name into her ear.

Silence…

Kagome looked at Inuyasha then slowly turned her gaze back to the still smirking man.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me?!"

tbc


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Inuyasha and company don't belong to me.**

**notes**: Sorry for the delay. But here you go, another chapter. Hope you enjoy it! Thank you to those who reveiwed, I really appreciate it. So guys, please leave a review so that I'll know if you liked it or not...till next time...

**Title: Center Stage**

* * *

"This is a fucking waste of time," Inuyasha grumbled, slumping further into his seat. He'd been sitting here for the past couple of hours listening non-stop to females yap their lines in hopes of gaining the coveted lead female role.

Seriously, he thought the university, known as one of the top universities in Japan and him being an alumnus, was overflowing with talented young men/women. Well, it was. They just sucked at acting.

"Shut it, Inuyasha," Shippo snapped back, mimicking the other male's slumped form in a fruitless attempt at relaxing. Damn, his head was hurting.

Inuyasha let out a grunt; lazily, "Who the hell came up with the stupid plan of holding a fucking audition, anyway? Can't you just pick any of the club members to play the fucking role?"

Shippo closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before gracing his cousin an answer. He was not in the mood to deal with this crap, and his head was really hurting, "Just stop whining, alright? I don't like this either but the board and your… the _chairman_, thought that it would be best if the rest of the university population and not only the club was somehow involved in the production."

"I should have known." Inuyasha scowled, eyes narrowing in frustration.

The room washed in silence. Both men locked in their own thoughts.

"Do you think Sesshoumaru's coming back?" Shippo mused loudly, suddenly finding the silence depressing.

Inuyasha snorted, "The bastard is probably home by now, drooling all over his bed…"

"Catching up a couple of hours' worth of sleep that you rudely interrupted," Shippo interjected.

Reaching out, Inuyasha whacked the younger man behind the head, "Fuck off. You should be thankful that I was generous enough to do you that one favor."

Shippo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Inuyasha gave him a blank stare, "Well, I'd like to see you try."

"No, thank you. I'm not that stupid," came Shippo's smug reply, grinning cheekily as he evaded another swipe Inuyasha directed at him.

"Smart ass."

The room once again fell silent.

"So what's the deal with dragging Sesshoumaru into this?" Inuyasha asked, curiosity finally getting the better of him. He had been wandering how his brother fit into all this; because as far as he knows, Sesshoumaru couldn't care less with something as senseless as a school play.

Although, he did have an idea as to how or rather _who_instigated his brother's involvement. And no, it was not Shippo. The kid was not daring enough. Heck, no one was daring enough.

Except one.

"Him," was Shippo's terse reply. After a short pause, he added, "And you know who I'm talking about."

And for the second time that day, Inuyasha said, "I should have known."

Shippo rested his chin against his propped right arm, appearing thoughtful if not for the amusement dancing in his eyes, "Said it was for publicity purposes. Sesshoumaru is quite well-known, you know."

"Right," Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "And I'm a simple guy who sings for a living."

Shippo arched a brow at the sarcastic response, "While your participation alone will attract plenty of attention, which is quite obvious if you step outside." Inuyasha grunted. Shippo smirked, not wanting this opportunity to bash his cousin to pass, "Sesshoumaru may not be as publicly known as you, however his mere presence alone will catch the attention of perhaps, most of the major _media_ companies, and _not_ photographers from _teen_ magazines."

Inuyasha grumbled something incomprehensible while Shippo smirked in triumph.

Silence once again reined the room.

"You think that's the main reason?" Shippo asked as he absentmindedly stared at the stain on his shirt.

Both men looked at each other; identical grins appearing on their faces before Inuyasha spoke, "Nah…He just wants to spite Sesshoumaru."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kagome let out a breath of relief at the sight of the usually jam-packed university corridors, empty. It wasn't that she hated crowded places, however, being in the same place with hundreds of shrieking females for two whole hours? Well, you get the idea…

She wondered how Shippo and the others are handling it. They've probably gone deaf by now. Kagome laughed at the idea, only to groan afterwards as she recalled her rather embarrassing 'encounters' with Sesshoumaru Takahashi. But what made things more devastatingly humiliating and frustrating was the fact that she knew who he was and his relatively impeccable reputation.

His name had been brought up quite a lot during business class. It seemed that the professor was quite taken by Sesshoumaru Takahashi and used an entire session to talk about the man. From all that she had heard about the young business man, who had taken the business world in a storm, Kagome pictured a man in his late thirties or early forties. Definitely not a guy in his mid to late twenties and had silver hair.

Silver hair…

Kagome let out another groan. Even if she didn't know he was Sesshoumaru, the business mogul, she should have at least recognized the hair. It was a dead give away. Anyone in their right minds would have easily put two and two together and figure out that he was somehow related to the singer.

And didn't Sango just mention to her earlier that the other guest was Inuyasha's brother?

Argghh!! This was just too much!

Kagome turned around the corner that would lead her to the courtyard. It was her favorite place in the campus. For some reason, sitting under the Sakura trees had always calmed her. Every time she felt troubled, she always went there to seek the peaceful atmosphere it offered. And for that reason, she found herself standing before the courtyard.

Only this time, she found herself staring straight into expensive black and silver silk and eventually into a pair of golden eyes…

Kagome cursed her luck. "Oh, god no. Not you again."

Sesshoumaru smirked, raising one elegant brow, "Indeed."

Kagome felt like banging her head. Hard.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sesshoumaru leaned slightly against the Sakura tree, eyes dancing in amusement as he watched the girl, her face a mirage of emotions. Surprise and embarrassment were the most evident. Then there was annoyance, which was gradually turning to righteous anger as the girl sent him a nasty glare, anger practically rolling off her. If it had been any other man, they would have scrambled to their feet by now and ran, fearing for their life.

Pity, though…Because he wasn't like any other man…

The girl in front of him sighed and looked at him with a weak smile, "It seems we've been running into each other a lot. This is like the third time in just half a day," she let out a quick laugh before continuing, "And it wasn't exactly the best of meetings either." She took a deep breath, "So, my point here is, why don't we start over and introduce ourselves properly and pretend that whatever happened earlier never happened. What do you say?"

Sesshoumaru stared at her blankly. This was certainly unexpected.

The girl sighed again, "Look, I'm not even sure if we'll meet each other again after the end of this day and I highly doubt that we will. But I don't exactly like leaving a bad impression on someone whom I just met and who I probably won't be seeing again. So?" She said and held out her hand.

Sesshoumaru looked at her outstretched hand, contemplating whether he should take it or not. He did not care if he left an undesirable impression on others. He was quite sure he did, and those who worked for him could attest to that. But…

The girl had a point. And for some unknown reason, he found her amusing.

He watched her smile when he took her hand.

"Well then. My name's Higurashi Kagome. Nice to meet you."

She looked at him expectantly, and he fought the urge to roll his eyes, "A pleasure to meet you, Higurashi-san. My name is Takahashi Sesshoumaru."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Takahashi-san." She beamed. "See that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Sesshoumaru subtly rolled his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXX

tbc...


	6. Bonus Chap Boys and their Toys

**Boys and their Toys**

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...

This does not follow the main plot but happens somewhere in the story. A sort of sidestory. An interlude..

* * *

"This better be good, Inuyasha," Shippo growled harshly while the person subjected to the threat casually draped an arm around the irate red-head, "Or, god help me, I'm going to-" 

"Just shut up, runt!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "You've been spending too much time with Mr. Ass-Almighty. I swear you're beginning to sound just like him."

"Just so you know, Inuyasha. I was up the entire night to finish a 20-page-report that will be due today."

"So?"

"I don't appreciate being dragged out of bed a few minutes after I just went in to bed!" Shippo snarled.

"Okay, you've been spending _way_too much time with Sesshoumaru."

Shippo closed his eyes for the moment, trying to control the urge to throttle the silver-haired man beside him right then and there. Superstar or not. _Calm down, Shippo. Breath in. Breath out. In. Out._

"Anyway, you'll be thanking me once this is over."

"And why do you think I will do that?" came Shippo's flat reply.

Inuyasha smirked, "You'll see."

XXXXXXX

Shippo could not believe what he was seeing. He was barely a year old when it first aired on tv and yet, seven years later, he had watched every episode of it more than ten times. Ask him anything about it, he can answer it right away, no pausing trying to recall, no hesitation. He can recite to you all their names. Good guys or bad. At 10, he owned a complete DVD set of the series. And just last month, he had seen the live movie version of it and it blew his mind. Watching it again after so many years made him feel like he was a kid again.

But this…

This was just so…

"What the fuck is that?!" came Miroku's shocked voice.

Shippo felt Miroku stand beside him, equally as shocked as he is.

"Am I seeing things?" Miroku whispered.

He absentmindedly shook his head, eyes not leaving the sight before him. "No, Miroku, you are not seeing things unless we both are."

"So? What you guys think? It's pretty cool, huh?" Inuyasha grinned impishly as he stood before his two gaping friends. Their reactions were exactly as he predicted.

Shippo let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. Cool? This was way past cool. This was…"…unreal."

Because right here, right in this very garage that they were currently occupying, were parked five new vehicles. And dear god, they weren't just like any other vehicles. Expensive or not.

Parked right before their eyes was a 2009 yellow Chevrolet Camaro with two black stripes running along its body, a black GMC Topkick pick-up truck, a silver Pontiac Solstice, a Search and Rescue Hummer H2, and the largest of them all, a Peterbilt 379 cab decorated with red flames painted over a blue body.

Miroku, who had gotten over his shock, was now hunched over by the yellow Camaro, mumbling Bumblebee under his breath again and again. Inuyasha, leaning against the black pick-up, was laughing hysterically.

Shippo ran his fingers along the red and blue body of the trailer cab. And before he knew it, a name escaped from his lips, "Optimus Prime."

Unfortunately, Inuyasha, having only recovered from a bout of laughter, heard it and succumb once again to another round of glee.

Shippo's eyes narrowed slightly, not liking that he was being laughed at but ignored it to pose an important question, "Inuyasha, how in the hell did you get all these?"

The laughter halted as the silver haired singer looked at him, "Who said I bought all these?"

Silence.

Blink.

Blink.

"If its not you. Then, who did?"

At that exact moment, the door slammed open and in came a scowling Sesshoumaru. He passed them without a glance and proceeded towards the black Mercedes-Benz beside the SR Hummer H2.

But before he slid into the driver's seat, Sesshoumaru place an arm on top of the car roof while his other hand held the door loosely. He stared at the three men. "Nick the paint, you're dead."

XXXXXXX

-the end-

I think its quite obvious what inspired me to write this. Bwahahaha... I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed thinking ang writing it...


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Inuyasha and company don't belong to me.**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Kagome couldn't help but feel pleased at herself. Just five minutes ago, she was thinking on how much of an arrogant jerk he was. Yet, right now, here she was standing before him, shaking his hands with a huge grin plastered on her face. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Takahashi-san." She beamed. "See that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Hn," was his only reply before turning his gaze back to where it was before she came and _almost_ bumped into him again.

"So, um, Takahashi-san – "

"Sesshoumaru."

"What?"

"Call me Sesshoumaru. Takahashi-san is my father."

"Oh, Okay," she nodded and gave him another smile, "but you have to call me Kagome too. I don't like it when people call me by my last name. It's too formal. And besides, I think it's only fair that if I get to call you by your first name then you get to use mine, right?"

Kagome watched Sesshoumaru push himself away from the tree he was leaning on, his golden eyes now fixed steadily on her blue ones.

"You talk too much."

Kagome felt her eyebrows tick, feeling slightly affronted, "Hey, I do not!"

Sesshoumaru did not answer, just smirked and walked passed her. Kagome rolled her eyes and snorted, muttering under her breath, "Arrogant je – "

"Have you taken your lunch, Higurashi?"

She blinked turning around. Did he just… "Excuse me?"

"Must I always repeat myself?"

Kagome blinked again, speechless.

He sighed and said in an irritated tone, "I asked if you have had your lunch already, Higurashi and I would appreciate it if you grace me with an answer. I do not like repeating myself."

"Umm…No?"

"Good. Come with me."

"What?" Kagome saw his form stiffen, and realized what she had just said and what he had just said before that. She hastily added, "NO! I mean…why?" _Was he asking her out?_

He gave her a blank stare, turned around and walked.

"But, hey!" Kagome shrugged, "Who am I to refuse when someone offers me a free lunch?" She said, trailing after Sesshoumaru with a huge grin plastered on her face. "And like I said earlier, _Takahashi-san_, call me Kagome."

XXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha could practically hear his stomach grumble in protest at not being fed. Shippo had called for lunch break ten minutes ago and thank god for that because he did not believe he could take anymore of the flirting and horrendous acting.

Keh! It wasn't a surprise Sesshoumaru walked out on them…_in_ the middle of one the auditions.

Inuyasha winced as he remembered the face of the girl when his brother stormed out of the theatre. It would have been fine if Sesshoumaru walked off without a word. But unfortunately for the girl, Sesshoumaru was in one of his not-so-rare foul mood and was the receiving end of his infamous tongue. The girl was a sobbing mess afterwards.

"I just spoke with Miroku and he said they'd be here in a few minutes with the food."

"Good, because I'm starving, and _where_ did you get that?" Inuyasha asked, looking pointedly at the piece of what looked liked a shrimp roll Shippo was holding.

"What? Oh, this?" Shippo waved the food then popped it into his mouth. "I was hungry and since the others brought lunch boxes I asked for a few pieces of food."

Inuyasha took a deep calming breath, "And you didn't even care enough to think to give me some or that I was hungry too?"

"Oh." The expression on the younger male's face clearly spoke that he had not thought of it.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, "Never mind, just tell Miroku to hurry the fuck up."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Taka- uh, Sesshoumaru, are you sure about this? I'm not complaining or anything, I mean I eat here a lot and the food is great but…are you sure you want to eat here?" Kagome asked incredulously, sneaking a glance at the silver-haired business man beside her.

"And why would I not want to eat here?" Sesshoumaru inquired.

Kagome shrugged, "I don't know. I just thought that, you know, that you…"

"Yes?" prompted Sesshoumaru.

Kagome sighed in defeat, "Never mind."

"Very well, then. Shall we?" Sesshoumaru smirked, disappearing within the curtain that hang on the entrance.

Kagome tilted her head upward and read the sign: _Oyaji's Ramen House._

She gave her shoulder another shrug before entering the restaurant. Who would have thought that a guy such as Sesshoumaru liked to eat Ramen? She surely did not. But if the man said he wanted to eat here, who was she to complain? Besides, Oyaji's, in her opinion, served the best Ramen in the whole of Japan and the best part was…

She won't be paying for it.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What's wrong, Sango?"

"Nothing," Sango straightened herself in the passenger seat as the car turned round the corner, "I thought…I just saw Kagome enter Oyaji's."

"You sure?" Miroku asked, taking his eyes off the road for a few seconds to look at her.

"Not really," she shrugged, "It could just be another person."

XXXXXXXXXX

The Ramen House was the same as he had remembered. Perhaps, a few ornaments were added here and there, but besides that, it was fairly the same.

Sesshoumaru caught sight of a middle-aged man behind the counter, who looked as if he was going to have a heart attack upon seeing him. The man's face then broke into a wide grin, waving a hand at him. He nodded in response, and stalked towards the table at the corner.

"You know the owner Kawamura-san?" she asked as she slid into the seat across his, a hint of surprise in her tone.

"Apparently."

Before Kagome could ask another question, the middle-aged man stopped at their table, still grinning. "Ah, Kagome, I didn't see you there earlier."

"Hello, Kawamura-san. How are you today?" Kagome greeted him with a smile.

"Fine, fine," he chuckled. "Well, I see that you came in with Sesshoumaru here."

"Actually – "

"We just met today, Kawamura-san," Sesshoumaru finished.

"Really?" the older man said slowly, but his expression later changed from confusion into a sly look, "Just met and you're already asking her out. Sesshoumaru, you sly dog," He winked at Kagome.

Sesshoumaru's lips curled up at the girl's shocked expression.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kagome watched both men silently as they conversed (Kawamura doing most of the talking while Sesshoumaru supplied short replies). Kawamura-san appeared quite fond of the younger silver-haired man and seemed to know quite a lot about him too.

Watching them, Kagome couldn't help but feel slightly out of place. Her gaze strayed towards Sesshoumaru as he politely answered the question bombarded to him by the older man. And it made her think that maybe there was more to him than he let on.

But there was something that was really bugging her…

"Ah, how rude of me. You must be very hungry. You came here to eat and here I am interrogating you," the older gave them an apologetic look. "So, what would you two like to order?"

"Well," Kagome began but paused, remembering that she was here with Sesshoumaru. It would be rude of her if she just ordered whatever she wanted. She looked at him.

He nodded for her to continue. "Go on, Higurashi."

"Well, I'll have what I always have then, Kawamura-san. Oyaji's special and an iced tea, please."

"Same as hers but I'll have water instead."

"Very good. Your orders will be served in a few minutes," the older man spoke, writing their orders in a slip of paper, "Well then, I better leave you two alone."

Kagome rolled her eyes and snorted when he winked at her.

"Well, it's really nice to see you again, Sesshoumaru." With that, he walked off, laughing.

Kagome giggled softly, shaking her head before propping one elbow up, resting her chin on her raised hand in the process and stared at the person across her.

Feeling that he was being watched, Sesshoumaru turned his head and found Kagome staring at him with an unreadable expression. He raised one elegant brow.

"I'm curious."

One silver brow upped a notch.

"You know Kawamura-san and he seems to know you. Too well I think for just a couple or occasional meetings," Kagome stated, pausing to thank the server as he placed their drinks on the table, "I also noticed that you seem to know your way around the campus. Very well. In fact, I was given the impression that it wasn't your first visit. That you've been there before."

"That is quite perceptive of you, Higurashi. But your point is?"

Kagome grinned proudly at the compliment, "Thank you, _Takahashi-san._ And I was getting to that."

She saw him frown at the use of his surname, but ignored it. It was only fair. If he insists on calling her by her surname, then so would she. "But I've also learned that your brother – "

"Half brother."

She rolled her eyes, "_Half_ brother graduated at the university."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed faintly, "You know of Inuyasha?"

"A friend of mine told me. They happened to share a class together before. She just learned about it today actually." Kagome took a sip from her glass of iced tea.

"Is that so?"

Kagome nodded, "So, since Inuyasha graduated at the university, did you graduate there as well?"

Sesshoumaru considered her question for a moment. And when it looked like he wasn't going to answer, she decided to ask again. She was about to open her mouth to say something when he spoke.

"You are correct on certain accounts, Higurashi."

"Kagome." She insisted.

He smirked.

Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes (she had been doing a lot of that lately) when he still refused to use her name. "So, I was right?"

"Partly, yes."

"What does that mean?"

"Simple, Kagome," Sesshoumaru drawled out slowly.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sushi?" Inuyasha stared at the contents of his plate with disgust, "Why the fuck are we having Sushi?"

"What's wrong with it? It's really good." Miroku said after placing two pieces of sushi at once into his mouth.

Sango swatted him in the arm, "Don't talk with your mouth full."

"Sorry."

Shippo sighed wearily, obviously aware that something like this would happen, "We are not having ramen, Inuyasha," The singer tried to protest but was cut off when he continued, "Yes, I know Oyaji's Ramen House is just a block a way but there is _no_ way in hell I'm letting you _spill_ all over the carpet," he gestured at the carpeted floor. It was an expensive carpet.

Inuyasha sent Shippo a nasty glare, snorted, turned around and grudgingly ate his share. Grumbling as he did.

"So you guys found anyone yet?" Sango asked. Shippo gave her a look. "That bad huh?"

"I don't get it," Miroku began, "You said the board and the chairman wanted you to involve the other students outside the club, right? You also said that you already had someone in mind who would fit the role perfectly."

"Yes, just as long as they're not part of the club." Shippo explained. "But the problem is that the person I had in mind is _in_ the club."

"Right. So why don't you just kick the person out of the club?"

The room fell silent.

"Why the fuck did you not say that earlier?" Inuyasha blurted out, spraying bits of raw fish all over the pristine red carpet.

XXXXXXXXXX

She should have been thrilled when he finally called her by her first name. But somehow, Kagome felt that something…not right was boundto happen. And the way that he had said it…

Sesshoumaru leaned forward, "I did not graduate in Taishou University. However…"

She had a feeling that she did not like what she was about to hear.

"My family owns it."

XXXXXXXXXX

-tbc-


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Inuyasha and company don't belong to me.**

**Chapter 7**

AN: I know. I know. I'm really sorry for the very veryyy long wait. I've been very busy the past couple of years and my muse escaped from its cage and gave me a lot of trouble trying to get it back.

Here's chapter 7 and I hope you guys enjoy it..

**OxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxO**

Sesshoumaru let out an irritated sigh as he finished reading what his father emailed him.

Did his father expect him to do all these?

Not that he was complaining, of course, because he wasn't. Sesshoumaru never complained.

But his father surely did not expect him to finish all these at such a short amount of time.

He had his own work to manage and he did not have the time nor did he appreciate being dumped with even more work than he already had…especially if the person who dumped it could have easily dealt with it.

"Hey Sesshoumaru!" a voice greeted him accompanied by the sound of a door being slammed close.

He groaned inwardly. And he did not have the time nor the _patience _to deal with idiots...

"What do you want, Miroku?" Sesshoumaru nearly growled as the unwanted company settled himself rather casually on one of the couches in his office.

"Nothing really," Miroku said, cheerfully, placing both his feet up the table. "Just dropped by to see how you were doing."

"If that is all then I suggest you haul yourself up from that couch and leave me alone. Don't you have work to do?"

"Yeah, I've got tons of it back at the office." Miroku replied all too calmly.

"Then what are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru frowned, obviously annoyed.

"Well," Miroku started, swinging his feet back to the ground and stood, taking three long strides to reach Sesshoumaru's desk and placed a hand on top of the wooden table, "First of all, I'm on a break."

Sesshoumaru ignored the hand and attempted to pick up one of the many documents laid neatly on his desk only to be relieved of it seconds later. He raised his eyes and glared darkly at the grinning man.

"And you, my dear friend, should learn how to relax once in awhile," Miroku continued.

Sesshoumaru subtly rolled his eyes. Ever since he started working for his father (Miroku tagging along = Miroku also began working for his father) and plunged himself head on to work, the perverted man had vowed to stay by his side, the pervert's reason _"…to keep you from burying yourself in work." _. . . Or something like that. He wasn't too sure. He wasn't exactly listening when Miroku had delivered his little speech (he was on the phone listening to somebody else). If he remembered vaguely, Miroku was quite serious then. Quite sincere too.

But he really couldn't care less. Miroku was nothing but an utter nuisance in his life. Like what he was doing now…

"And that brings me to the reason why I am here."

Sesshoumaru cocked a brow, "Oh, I thought you were here to irritate me."

Miroku stared blandly at him, before giving a soft chuckle, "Tempting, but no. Sorry to disappoint you."

Sesshoumaru felt his brow tick ever so slightly. It was times like this that made him wonder how he tolerated the man all these years. Because god knows, everything the pervert did, however sincere the reasons may be, was downright annoying.

"The reason why I am here, dear friend, is to jog your supposedly sharp memory that you've missed lunch…again."

Sesshoumaru blinked then glanced at his watch, mentally chastising himself when he read the time. It was already half past two. He was too busy, he had forgotten.

And now that he was reminded, he felt a slight grumble in his stomach. He was hungry. He only had coffee this morning.

"I knew you'd forget," Miroku said smugly, he walked around the desk, grabbed the jacket draped on the chair, "So that is why I've arranged a reservation at this fancy Italian restaurant I discovered about a week ago." He dropped the jacket at its owner, who looked miffed, and proceeded towards the door. "It's a bit expensive though but the food there is great; I know that you'll lo…" He trailed off, hand hovering above the knob of Sesshoumaru's office door as he stared at the silver-haired man still sitting behind his desk, with a hand poised over the intercom, ready to press a button. "What are you doing?"

Sesshoumaru ignored the question and pressed one white button. The voice of his secretary came out from the machine.

"_Is there anything you want, Sesshoumaru-sama?"_

"Yes, Yumi, it appears I've lost track of time once again."

There was a low chuckle on the other line. _"Missed lunch again, Sesshoumaru-sama? Shall I get you something from the cafeteria then?"_

"Ye – "

"NO!" Miroku lounged at the intercom...or rather, at the unsuspecting person using it.

"What the…"

Wham!

Crash!

"_Sesshoumaru-sama?"_

Thud!

…

"Ah, Yumi-san."

"_Houshi-san? Is everything alright? I thought I heard a loud crash."_

"Yes, yes, everything's…" Miroku cleared his throat in an effort to keep himself from laughing and at the same time ignoring the deadly look directed at him, "fine…I think." The last two words came out in a squeak.

"_I see…If you say so, Houshi-san. But…is Sesshoumaru-sama still there? I'd like to know what he – "_

Miroku cut in, "About that, Yumi-san. Sesshoumaru and I will instead be going out to grab a late lunch. He doesn't have anything scheduled for the next couple of hours, does he?"

"_Um…No, Houshi-san."_

"Good," he said, rather enthusiastically, "Very good. That will be all. Thank you!"

"That, Houshi, was completely _unnecessary_." Sesshoumaru hissed sharply from his position on the floor.

Miroku looked at him straight in the eye, a lopsided grin on his face.

A series of profanities ran through Sesshoumaru's head as he slowly pulled himself up on his feet.

"You do know that you brought that upon yourself. If you had simply agreed to my invitation then this wouldn't have happened."

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, taking a deep calming breath. Perhaps, he should just give him this one chance. He'd usually ignore or dismiss the infuriating man but this time he was not in the mood to deal with him. Although he dare not admit it, he was feeling a bit weary. Maybe, a break wasn't such a bad idea…even if the companion was barely tolerable. "Very well," he said quietly, slipping on his jacket. "Hurry up, before I change my mind."

"Wonderful!" Miroku beamed, overtaking Sesshoumaru, and opened the door.

**OxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxO**

Sango slightly cringed as Kagome dropped her head with a loud thump on the table. That looked painful.

"Is everything okay, Kags?" It was a stupid question, Sango knew, but she didn't know what else to say.

"No," came the muffled but truthful reply.

No, everything definitely wasn't okay. Kagome thought. Because first, she woke up late this morning which then resulted to her coming in late for class. She then found out the reason she woke late was because her alarm clock was broken. And her phone was missing.

Then her business class professor was being bitchy and gave an unannounced quiz, which Kagome was sure she'd fail. And just when she thought things couldn't get worse, they were given an assignment to write a ten-page report regarding the country's top companies and their respective CEOs. And from what she heard from the murmurs of the class, majority will be writing about a certain silver-haired CEO.

Kagome scoffed at the thought. What a bunch of suck ups.

What was so great about him anyway?

"Kagome!"

Kagome started and blinked at the hand waving centimeters before her face.

"Welcome back, Kags. Mind telling me where you've been?"

Kagome blinked again, confused. "Did I space out?"

"I'm not so sure," Sango grinned; as she stared at the raven haired woman. "I mean, you've been staring at the same spot for the past five minutes and I've been calling you several times…"

Kagome rolled her eyes, then stuck her tongue out playfully. "I was just thinking."

"Mm-hmm. Is that so? And what were you thinking about?"

Kagome paused, contemplating whether she should tell her bestfriend. There would be no harm done if she did tell her…well, maybe except for her dignity. But then, Sango **was** there when she yelled at the man.

"Kagome?"

"Did you know that Shippo's family owns the school?"

Sango blinked, slightly taken aback at the question, and wandered where it came from and where it was leading to. "Kind of. I just learned that Shippo is related to Inuyasha. But I do know that Inuyasha's family owns it." When Kagome stared at her in disbelief, she added, "What? You didn't know?"

Kagome let out a defeated groan, and banged her head again.

"Really, Kagome, you've been studying at the university for a couple of years now. The least you could do is know who owns it. Why the sudden interest anyway?"

"Because I didn't know?"

Sango raised one brow. "You have to do better than that. Now come on tell me."

Kagome grumbled something.

"What?"

"I said Sesshoumaru practically shoved it to my face," Kagome grumbled reluctantly.

Sango's brow shot up. Wait a minute, when did Kagome get a chance to talk with the guy? "Whoa, back up there a moment. I don't remember you talking to him again."

Kagome fidgeted in her seat, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Remember when I didn't come back until after lunch?"

"Yeah?"

"Well…"

"Well?"

Kagome looked at Sango straight in the eyes, "You're not letting me off until I tell you, are you?"

The other girl smiled sweetly, "Nope. So spill."

Kagome sighed again. There was no backing out now. "We kinda bumped into each other…okay, more like me bumping into him, again. Then we talked…then he invited me to lunch." The last bit came out as a murmur but still loud enough for the other girl to hear.

"He what?"

"I said he invited me to lunch."

Silence. It took Sango a full minute for that simple sentence to register on her head and still she couldn't believe what she just heard. Did she hear her right? "And your answer was?"

"I said yes."

"You said what?"

"Arggh! Stop making me repeat myself! Gyahh! Now you're making me sound like him!!" Kagome ground out in frustration.

Sango stared at her friend, holding both hands up, "Okay, Kags. Calm down. No need to get all worked up. I was just making sure. I mean I thought you don't like the guy."

"I don't," Kagome grumbled, "then he acted all civil towards me and I thought that maybe he wasn't such a bad guy. And I was hungry. He was offering free food. What was I suppose to do?"

"You could have said no."

Kagome gave Sango a blank look.

"Okay, okay, sorry, that was lame. So what happened next?"

Kagome shrugged, "It was ok. We talked. Well, more like just me talking. Come to think of it, I never even heard him say more than a couple of sentences. Bah!! But who cares?" Kagome eyes began to tick. "The guy's a jerk anyway. You know, just when I thought we're getting along, he ruins it all!!"

It was one thing yelling at some random guy, it was another thing yelling at some random rich guy, and it was definitely another thing yelling at some random rich guy who happens to own the university you're attending.

Sango covered her mouth, trying to hide the growing smile on her lips. It was amusing to watch Kagome get so riled up just because of a man. Maybe..

Kagome stopped mid-rant and glared at Sango, "Oi, I know what you're thinking."

_Ah, crap, caught._ Sango shrugged, "It was just a thought."

**OxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxO**

He should have known, Sesshoumaru thought grimly as he took in his surroundings.

He knew Miroku had something up his sleeves when the man had been so adamant that they try the new restaurant when he suggested going somewhere else. He would have ignored Miroku and went with his preference: however, there was a slight problem. He wasn't driving.

His suspicions were confirmed when they drove through a very familiar street. When he gave Miroku a hard glare, the man responded with a huge grin and said in an innocent voice.

"_Well would you look at that? Who would have known? You don't mind if we take a little detour before we head back, do you, Sess?"_

He would have strangled the man right there. Pity though, that killing someone out of annoyance was illegal. He would have done it years ago. So he sat back, letting Miroku have his way, while silently contemplating on how to get back at the man. Adding a few workloads, perhaps? Not a bad idea. (Pls. take note that this is Sesshoumaru. In his vocabulary, a few actually translates to a lot).

The sound of several books hitting the ground caught his attention but it was not until after the…

"Oh. My. God."

...that Sesshoumaru turned around, one corner of his lips tugged upwards at what he saw.

"And hello to you too, Higurashi."

**OxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxO**

"Fate must really hate me," Kagome commented bluntly as she gathered her fallen books and notebooks, not failing to take note that Sesshoumaru, being the gentleman that he was, did nothing but stand there and look.

"How so?"

"I keep bumping into you."

Touche.

"Is that how you usually greet someone?"

"Not really. I'm usually more polite." Kagome replied with a smile, her books now tucked safely on her arm.

Sesshoumaru couldn't stop the low chuckle that escaped his lips. This girl was either brave or foolish, but it amused him that someone like her had the backbone to actually insult him right on his face where others had sorely failed.

"Still sore about Sunday, Higurashi?" He could still remember the look on her face when he told her his family owned the university, and if he recalled correctly the expression on her face right now was exactly the same as then.

Kagome looked horrified. He did not say that. Oh, he so did not just say that. There was nothing she wanted more to do than to swipe that annoying smirk of his face. "I'll pretend you didn't say that."

She rolled her eyes when all she got was a snort in reply. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Sesshoumaru raised one brow, "Am I not allowed to visit? Last time I checked, my family owns it."

Kagome laughed, humorlessly, "You don't have to rub it in."

"I was merely answering your question."

Her face burned, though this time not out of anger but of embarrassment. She hated to admit it but he was right, he was only answering her questions just like last time when she had been so persistent to know how he knew the campus so well. She couldn't fault the guy for being honest. Though, his arrogance certainly was something else.

"I am waiting for Miroku."

Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru, a little surprised. He was trying to be civil. "Yeah, he's with Sango. I left them at the courtyard. I had to leave. I mean, I like sweets but not too much. If you know what I mean?" she finished with a grin.

Sesshoumaru snorted.

"Miroku's a nice guy but he's one hell of a lech. I don't know how those two ended up together."

"His lecherous ways can be quite bothersome, but he means well. You don't have to worry about your friend."

That caught her off guard. She didn't expect that from him. He was defending Miroku, and after that, Kagome couldn't help but feel that there was more to him than he let on. "I'm not worried. Like I said, he's a nice guy and I know he's serious about Sango. I can see it from the way he looks at her."

She watched him closely for any reaction, feeling a bit disappointed when he didn't. With a shrug, Kagome turned around and started to walk away. She still had a class. "You know what?" she stopped, looking over her shoulders at him, "Arrogance aside, you're not such a bad guy." She flashed him a smile before running off.

Sesshoumaru gazed after her until she disappeared among the crowd of students. "You're not so bad yourself, Higurashi," he said softly, lips curling upwards as he did.

**OxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxOOxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxO**

Shippo let out a long sigh, taking one last look at the paper holding the final list of the cast and crew. There had been some changes made especially the female lead. He would be lying if he'd say the audition was a success, because it was exactly the opposite of that. It was a disaster.

There had been some few exceptions, some were actually quite talented but they were just not what he was looking for. Maybe that was because he already had someone in mind who'd fit the role perfectly on his mind. The problem was _the chairman _had insisted they pick someone that had nothing to do with the club, which Shippo thought was complete BS, and it irked him when _the chairman_ so readily gave him his consent when he reasoned out one last time why he should stick with his original choice. Just like that, after the hell they've been through with the audition.

_That stupid old man!_

Eh? Shippo blinked, and looked at the now crumpled paper on his hand.

_Gyah. No good, no good. I can't let the old man get the best of me._

But the cocky grin on his face really pissed him off. Sighing, Shippo eased back on the couch. He should have had showed _the chairman_ those tapes before. That would have saved them some trouble. But he wondered. When he showed him the tapes of the previous plays, something caught the chairman's attention. He was sure of it, because he had that look on his face that Shippo knew too well. He'd ask him about that. But that can wait. Right, now, he should focus on the task at hand. He just hoped that Kagome won't take the news too badly.

tbc..


End file.
